


Things That Went Forgotten

by kuro



Category: The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Childhood, Gen, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-08-07
Updated: 2014-08-07
Packaged: 2018-02-12 05:54:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,509
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2098134
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kuro/pseuds/kuro
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The late afternoon autumn light filtered through the windows, painting strange patterns of shadow and light on the floor and walls. Tony went over to one of the windows for a moment, looking outside. He really wanted to go outside and play with the fallen leaves painting the lawn in bright colours, but his father wouldn’t allow it. It wasn’t becoming for a boy like him.</p>
<p>A lot of things weren’t becoming for a boy like him.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Things That Went Forgotten

**Author's Note:**

> I don't even know what I'm doing at this point.

The late afternoon autumn light filtered through the windows, painting strange patterns of shadow and light on the floor and walls. Tony went over to one of the windows for a moment, looking outside. He really wanted to go outside and play with the fallen leaves painting the lawn in bright colours, but his father wouldn’t allow it. It wasn’t becoming for a boy like him.

A lot of things weren’t becoming for a boy like him.

He had wanted a pet for Christmas, he had been a good boy _all_ year, but his mother had only sighed heavily when Tony had told her about his dearest wish. But that wish wasn’t a bad thing, right? Other children were allowed to have pets, too. Or at least they had friends to play with. And Tony had faithfully promised to take care of it _perfectly_.

He sighed, turning away from the window. It was no use; he knew he wasn’t going to get his wish. He knew better than to believe in Santa Claus, and he knew that his father had the last word. And his father’s last word was usually ‘no’.

He was suddenly startled out of his gloomy thoughts by a small figure sitting on the floor, bent over the circuit board he had been playing around with earlier. Tony was absolutely sure that whoever this was, they hadn’t been there just moments before, and neither did they belong here. There were no other children in this house, apart from him.

“Hey!” he shouted angrily (and a little shocked), stalking over. “What are you doing here? Get out!”

The intruder finally looked up from where he had been staring at Tony’s work, the afternoon light turning the boy’s blond hair bright golden with the movement. Instead of running or apologising, however, he smiled up at Tony, blue eyes sparkling.

“Did you make this?” the boy asked in an excited tone, pointing at the circuit board.

“Yes,” Tony answered snappily. “Now get out.”

The boy looked at him for a moment, eyes huge and blue and considering.

“Let’s play together,” he suggested eventually. “It’ll be fun. And I’ll keep it a secret, I promise.”

“You can’t just…” Tony started to complain, but then he reconsidered. This was basically what he had been wishing for. And as long as his father wouldn’t find out, he would be alright.

“Okay,” he said aloud. “But Father can’t find out.”

The boy beamed at him once more and pulled Tony down by his arm.

“Can you explain to me how it works?” the boy asked, apparently still fascinated by the circuit board.

Tony settled in and started to explain all the details to him, completely forgetting about everything else for a short, fleeting moment.

Only when one of the maids came to get him for dinner his little bubble of excitement was burst. He had one moment of shock when he thought that the maid would see unsolicited visitor, but when Tony turned around, the boy had somehow already managed to sneak away soundlessly.

Tony was somehow both relieved and disappointed when he was lead down to the dining room. For a moment, he had had someone to talk to (and who actually listened to him). But the boy had also kept his promise.

Maybe they would meet again.

For once, his father’s harsh words didn’t hurt quite as much.

* * *

 

Two days later, the boy returned again. Tony greeted him gruffly and told him once more that he wasn’t allowed to be here, but secretly, he was inordinately pleased about his return.

It had been raining all day and Tony was bored out of his mind by mid-afternoon. Then the boy suddenly popped out of seemingly nowhere and suggested a game of hide & seek. Tony, feeling challenged, agreed. He had never really played hide & seek, but he was sure he would be good at it. He was good at everything.

Unfortunately, his confidence didn’t last long, and he started to regret his decision a short while later. The boy was extremely good at hiding and could fit his skinny frame even in the narrowest nooks and corners. He also laughed at Tony when he threw a hissy fit, not feeling sorry about leading Tony on at all. But he also readily agreed to Tony’s suggestion of reading a book together when Tony really had had enough.

Tony wondered if this was what having a friend felt like.

It was a happy feeling, even when he was annoyed. He usually had nobody to be annoyed at.

“I still don’t know your name,” Tony mumbled a little later, leaning on the boy’s bony shoulder and staring down on the images in the book lying in his lap.

“It’s probably better that way,” the boy quietly said, turning the page.

Tony didn’t ask for his name again. He did turn his head slightly, though, so that his nose almost rested on the boys collar bone. He could smell his unique smell that way, both warm and cold at the same time. Tony wasn’t able to describe it properly if he tried, but it gave him a good feeling somehow.

As if he knew a secret nobody else knew. Their secret.

* * *

 

A few days after their last meeting, Tony was woken up in the middle of the night. Tony was scared at first, not sure if it wasn’t something terrible that had snuck into the darkness of his bedroom. But then he turned on the bedside lamp, and the boy stood in front of his bed, lips turned an unhealthy shade of blue, shivering so badly it looked like somebody was shaking him.

“What’s wrong?” Tony asked, eyes widening at the strange sight.

“I’m so c-c-cold,” the boy explained with clattering teeth. “I c-c-can’t sleep. Can I s-s-stay with you?”

Wordlessly, Tony folded back the blanket of his bed so that the boy could slip in with him. He really felt very cold to the touch, so Tony wrapped his arms around the boy and started to rub him carefully, just like Tony’s mother had done once when Tony had been very sick.

After a little while, the boy started to warm up a little, and the shivering stopped.

“I’m scared,” the boy whispered. “I can’t sleep and I’m scared. And always so cold. So, so cold.”

“You’re going to be alright, I promise,” Tony said, tugging him closer. He didn’t know why, but he felt it was very important to convince him of that.

“Thank you,” the boy mumbled, curling up and slowly falling asleep in Tony’s arms.

When Tony woke up the next morning, he was gone. Only a faint, familiar scent remained.

* * *

 

His father was shouting and his mother was crying, and Tony knew that this was very bad. He would be sent away, away from his family, to a boarding school. And he should be worried about himself, about his mother, about a lot of things really. But for some reason, he couldn’t stop thinking about the boy whose name he didn’t even know. This was the end, he was absolutely sure of that.

That night, he cried in the dark, alone.

And he waited for many, many other nights, waiting for a small, skinny figure to suddenly and soundlessly appear at the side of his bed.

He never came.

And one day, Tony stopped waiting.

One day, Tony _forgot_ to wait.

* * *

 

“Tony,” a voice woke him up. “Tony, don’t sleep on the sofa.”

“Mrrrgl,” Tony complained, unwilling to move from where he had apparently fallen asleep on the sofa during film night.

“Well then,” Steve said, and that was all the warning Tony got before he was grabbed around the waist and hoisted up.

“Wah?” Tony shrieked and flailed helplessly. “Steve, are you crazy? I’m awake, I’m awake, let me go!”

Steve only laughed and lowered him down a little so his feet actually touched the floor. Tony tried to wind himself out of Steve’s embrace when he suddenly backtracked. Something had piqued his interest.

“You kind of smell like someone I used to know,” he said without thinking.

“Is that a compliment?” Steve asked with a mocking grin.

“The highest, actually,” Tony confessed, unable to say anything but the truth. He was suddenly and with strange intensity remembering all the things he had had forgotten all these years. Things he had worked hard to forget. “He was my best friend.”

“Oh,” Steve said, growing serious and letting go of Tony.

“Don’t worry about it, Cap,” Tony assured him with a small smile. “It’s really a good thing. I just wished I could’ve met him again.”

“I guess so,” Steve agreed, giving him a small, regretful smile.

“Good night, Steve,” Tony whispered, not knowing what else to say. What could he possibly say to a person who must be wishing for a lot more than meeting one single person again?

“Good night, Tony,” Steve answered, squeezing Tony’s shoulder for a moment before he turned away, leaving Tony standing in the dark, alone.


End file.
